The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has expressed fears the country is headed towards a fifth coronavirus wave as the Delta variant spreads.

“It is feared that we are on the way to a fifth wave throughout the country,” Rouhani told a meeting of Iran’s coronavirus taskforce, warning the public to be careful as “the Delta variant has spread” in southern provinces, according to Reuters.

Iran is battling the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus, with a death toll of over 84,000. The capital of Tehran has been designated a “red” zone, along with nine other cities in the province. The southern and southeastern provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchistan are also now classified as “red”.

Iran says it is struggling to import vaccines for its population of 83 million due to US sanctions that complicate transferring money to foreign firms.

Just over 4.4 million of the country’s 82.9 million people have received a first jab, while only 1.7 million have received two doses, the health ministry says.

(Source: The Guardian)